


Our Secrets

by StoryTellerMax



Category: House M.D.
Genre: Drama, Hurt/Comfort, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-17
Updated: 2017-12-17
Packaged: 2019-02-15 23:46:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 15,837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13042041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StoryTellerMax/pseuds/StoryTellerMax
Summary: Cuddy has been keeping a big secret. Her mother has been keeping an even bigger secret. What do they have to do with House? And more importantly, what do they have to do with Cuddy’s new assistant?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Author’s Notes: This storyline is taken from another show. I just reworked it into the House MD universe. I have not written the Tritter storyline, or House’s pills etc into this story so it didn’t happen. Lot’s of other storylines will be missing as well, such as Chase/Cameron romance. Medical information may be wrong as well as I am not a Doctor.

Title: Our Secrets  
Category: Drama, Hurt/Comfort  
Rating: M  
Setting: episode 9 season 3 “Finding Judas”  
Summary: Cuddy has been keeping a big secret. Her mother has been keeping an even bigger secret. What do they have to do with House? And more importantly, what do they have to do with Cuddy’s new assistant?  
Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to the TV show House MD.

 

Chapter One: 

“It’s a good thing you failed to become a mom, ‘cause you suck at it!”

House words echoed in Cuddy’s head had she sat in her office crying. He was in pain, and he lashed out. A part of her knew that she shouldn’t take it personally. But this was personal, more personal then House could have known when he said them.

She wanted to close her eyes and erase everything. Erase House’s words. Erase the pain, the real pain, the pain that she had tried to bury for so long but that come flooding back with House’s words. 

A sudden knock at her door startles her. She doesn’t want company. She just wants to leave and forget.

“I’m busy” She tries to say calmly but her voice breaks and gives her away.

“Are you okay?” asks Wilson, concern evident in his voice.

Cuddy shakes her head and takes a short breath. “Yeah, sure.”

“Uhm…” Wilson begins “What I meant by ‘Are you okay’ is ‘What the hell did House do’?”

“It’s not what he did it’s what I --” Cuddy pauses, afraid of saying too much. She bites her lip and shakes her head slightly. “…It doesn’t matter”

Wilson looks at her for a moment before asking “Did he say something?”

“Wilson…” Cuddy begins

“Seriously? What did he say? Because I know that he’s said or done something. I’ve seen him be an ass to you a thousand times, but I’ve never seen it get to you”

“Guess I’m just having a bad day….” She trailed off with a sniff “When this case is over, I’ll – I’ll head home”

“Cuddy—“

“-Really, I’m fine.”

Wilson stepped back and nodded. “Okay. But if you want to talk, you know where I’ll be”

Cuddy offered him a very small smile as thanks and watched him leave. 

As soon as she could no longer see him, she let a brief sob escape her lips. She had to pull herself together. She had kept this secret for 20 years, and she had just come so close to spilling it. She couldn’t let that happen. She wiped her eyes with the pad of her thumb. She needed to think about the little girl upstairs who still needed her. She couldn’t live in the past.

Not when it hurt so much. 

**House MD**

it was early the next morning as Chase left the hospital. The case had been solved and after helping Cameron and Foreman complete some paperwork, he was finally ready to go home and rest. 

As Chase walked towards his car in the hospital’s underground car park, his eye caught something bright yellow. He did a double take when he realized that right in front of him was a yellow Bugatti Veyron 16.5. Chase wasn’t that knowledgeable about cars, but he did no a good car when he saw it.

He walked over to get a better look and that’s when he noticed the young woman leaning against the driver’s side door.

The woman looked like she was in her early twenties. She had long black hair which was draped over one shoulder. She was wearing cut-off jeans and a short sleeve white top, a pair of sunglasses sitting on top of her head. Chase had to admit that she looked very attractive.

“Hi,” Chase said, offering her a big smile “Is this your car?” 

The woman looked up and him and smiled back. “It is. You into cars?”

Chase half shrugged “Not really. I just know a good, expensive car when I see one”

“Yeah, it does alright” replied the woman with a small chuckle. Then she pushed herself off her car and took a few steps towards Chase. “So, are you a patient here?”

 

“Oh, no-no,” Chase replied quickly, shaking his head. Not sure why that question needed to be answered so quickly. “I work here. I’m a doctor.”

“Oh” 

“I’m actually just finishing my shift, but can I help you at all?” Chase asked.

“No thanks,” The woman replied and pointed a finger to the main elevator of the car park. “I’m kind of waiting for someone. But I’m sure I’ll see you around”

“Ah, yeah. Well bye.” Chase gave her one last smile before heading back to his own car. 

He had to admit that there was something about her that was intriguing, and while a part of him wanted to stay and talk to her more, another part of him was tired and he needed to go home so he left.

**House MD**

After Chase had driven off, the woman went back and leaned against her car. She grabbed her car keys out of her pocket, running her thumb over them lightly. 

She had to admit that the doctor she had just spoken to was cute, but she really was waiting for someone so she didn’t have time to stop and chat. 

It was at that moment that another car pulled into the car park. The woman waited until the owner had gotten out and was walking towards the elevator. It was the person she had been waiting for.

“Hey!” The woman called out. The person turned and looked at her. “You’re Doctor Cuddy’s assistant right?” 

“Um yeah. Can I help you?” He asked.

The young woman grinned and held up her keys. “How would you like a new car?” 

To be continued…


	2. Chapter two

Chapter Two: 

It was a very hectic morning in the hospital. At least for Cuddy. She was overworked, trying to juggle several meetings all at once. What made it worse was that her assistant had randomly quite with no warning or explanation as to why. He didn’t even give two weeks’ notice, or a written letter of resignation. No all she got was a rather weird phone call from him, saying that he had found better options. 

What made it worse was that the last few days seemed to be the days where everyone wanted something from her. She had at least three board member’s wanting to meet. Two potential donors, two heads of departments wanting to talk. Plus to top it all off there was House. He always made her work life a little bit more….colorful. But since his little comment to her in the bathroom two days ago about her failing as a mother, Cuddy had not been able to bring herself to talk to him.

Hell, she hadn’t even been able to look at him. It was common for him to avoid her, except when seeking out permission for a procedure or test. It was not common for her to avoid him though. Thankfully he didn’t have any case at the moment which meant that she was quite happy to let him do his own thing in his office.

Eventually, things would go back to normal. She just needed to get her head together and not think about what happened in the past. She needed to be calm, but the current ringing off her phone was not helping the situation. 

She had been in her office, pacing while on the phone for the thirteenth time that day. Just after she hung up there was a light knock on her door. 

“Come in” She sighed as she moved to sit at her desk and placed the phone back down. She was expecting a potential donor. She was surprised when she was a young woman walking over to her carrying a folder under her arm. “Can I help you?” 

“No, but I’m here to help you” The woman replied. “I’m your new assistant. I’m Max Taylor”

Cuddy looked at her for a moment before she collected herself. This day and really thrown her off. “I’m – I’m sorry, did you say ‘new assistant’?” She asked

“Yep” Replied the Max.

“But I haven’t had time to hire a new assistant yet,” Cuddy replied, confused by this new situation.

“Alex hired me as his replacement”

“He did?” Cuddy asked. Again Max nodded with a smile. Cuddy shook her head. “Look, I’m sorry but that’s not how this works. I need to do interviews and check references. I’m sorry”

“Oh, I have references –“ Max began as she pulled out a piece of paper from a folder she had been carrying. 

Cuddy put one hand out to signal for Max to stop talking. “I said I’m sorry. Look you seem nice, but I’m just too busy right now. You’re welcome to call back tomorrow with your details to organize an interview.”

“No, that’s ok” Max shrugged. “But are you sure? I mean, you look pretty swamped and I could start right now”

Cuddy shakes her head and goes to open her mouth to answer when suddenly there is another knock on her door. This time it is an older man, dressed in what looked like a very fancy suite. It was the donor she had been expecting before. 

“Mr. Fletcher,” Cuddy announced, standing up from her chair. “Please come in.” She then turned back to Max. “Like I said, you are welcome to leave your details, but as you can see I have a previous appointment”

Max nodded slowly and smiled, “Ok. Thanks anyway” 

With that, Max turned around and walked out of Cuddy’s office, closing the door behind her. 

**House MD**

Once outside of Cuddy’s office, Max sighed and rolled her eyes to look at the ceiling. ‘Great’ she thought ‘well that didn’t work,’

She looked around the outer office and slightly chewed on her bottom lip. 

‘Guess I got to find a plan B’ she thought.

**House MD**

“—Mr. Fletcher, I understand that a hundred thousand dollars is a large amount of money—“ Cuddy had begun. 

“—An amount that I have not decided to donate yet” replied Fletcher matter of factly.

“Yes.” Cuddy nodded. They had been talking for several minutes and she was getting more exasperated as each minute went by. “And I wanted to make sure that you understand that you would have an input as to what the hospital did with those funds, but I can’t guarantee that you would get a large input.”

“To be honest I’m not sure that is good enough”  
Cuddy nodded. She had been trying to get a donation from Fletcher for the past year. He had continued to be stubborn and seemed to throw a new reason why he couldn’t donate every time they met. Cuddy had to fight an urge not to sigh loudly. Fletcher was infuriating but the hospital needed his donation. 

“As I’ve told you, the board would have the majority vote on where the money is spent” Cuddy continued, a fake smile plastered on her face.

Fletcher opened his mouth when the door to the office opened and Max walked back in. 

“I’m sorry to interrupt,” said Max to Cuddy. “Um, did I drop my cell in here?”

“Oh um…” Cuddy briefly looks around on the floor. 

“Hey,” Max said suddenly, looking at Fletcher. She grinned and pointed a finger at him. “You’re Albert Fletcher right? The owner of one of the biggest motel chains in the state?” She asked. 

Fletcher smiled broadly at her, happy that a young woman had recognized him. 

“That would be me.” Fletcher grinned proudly. 

“I also heard that you were trying to get into politics?” Max continued. 

Fletcher had turned to get a better look at Max, almost forgetting about Cuddy still in front of him. 

“I am trying. I have to admit there are some obstacles that I haven’t been able to get over yet” replied Fletcher. 

“Right….” Max nodded and then turned to look at Cuddy. “I don’t think my keys are here. Thanks anyway” She turned and took a step towards the door then suddenly stopped. “Sorry, again” she continued as she turned back around. “But didn’t I also read that your popularity took a bit of a negative dive recently?” 

Fletcher and Cuddy both look at Max with stunned expressions. Before either of them could answer, however, Max quickly continued.

“’Cause, if it were me, well I’d be trying to boost a more positive image for myself. Like, say, donating a huge amount of money to a hospital.” Max continued, barely taking a breath yet full of confidence. “Plus, I would also act like I didn’t want people to know about my donation, so that when the media did find out, well then I’d just look more humble. That would make me more popular with the voting public.” Then she shrugged and put one palm up in the air. “But, you know. That’s just me.”

Cuddy was staring agape at Max. She wasn’t really sure what to say to that. She looked over at Fletcher, who was also staring at Max. 

“Oh, silly me,” Max said suddenly, sticking one hand into her jacket pocket. “My cell’s right here” She grinned broadly before turning on her heel. “Bye” 

Max left, as quickly as she had entered. 

Cuddy sat, still stunned by what had happened. When she finally got her thoughts back on track, she turned back to Fletcher.

“Ah, I’m so—“ She began

“-Dr. Cuddy,” Fletcher started. He turned and smiled slightly. “Let me write you a check”

**House MD**

Not long after, Cuddy came out of her office leading Fletcher and thanking him for his donation to the hospital. 

“Your money will go towards helping so many,” Cuddy told him. “I’ can’t thank you enough”

“I think some of that thanks needs to go to this young lady.” Said Fletcher, as he turned and gestured over Cuddy’s shoulder to Max who was leaning on the assistant’s desk. 

Cuddy turned, a little surprised to see Max there. 

“Oh,” said Cuddy.

Fletcher grabbed her hand and shook it before Cuddy could grasp why Max was there.

“I expect you will have some reporters calling in the next few days,” Fletcher told Cuddy knowingly. 

Cuddy snapped her attention back to him and nodded. “I will be sure to say only positive things about you, Mr. Fletcher” 

“Please, call me Albert.” Fletcher smiled. “Now if you excuse me, ladies, I do have another appointment.”

With that, Fletcher nodded and walked out. Max gave him a little wave as he left. Then she turned around to Cuddy. 

“I..I don’t know what to say…” Cuddy began.

“Yeah, sorry,” Max said, slightly biting her bottom lip “I probably shouldn’t have interrupted like that”

“No no,” Cuddy said quickly. “I’m glad you did. You somehow got him to change his mind about his donation.” She smiled genially at Max. Feeling a little bit lighter and less stressed then she had in a while. “Thank you. I’ve been trying to get him to donate something for almost a year now.”

Max smiled back and pushed herself off the desk. 

“Don’t worry about it. Sometimes it helps to come at these things from a different angle” Max said, and then looked towards the outer door. “Um, I probably should go….” She trailed off, hoping that Cuddy would say something.

She was not disappointed. 

“Hey,” Cuddy began “Do you wanna grab a coffee?”

Max slowly smiled. 

To be Continued…


	3. chapter three

Chapter Three:

Cuddy led Max to the hospital’s cafeteria, where they both grabbed a coffee in a take-away cup. Cuddy wasn’t sure about Max, but she herself knew that she would most likely be called away and wanted to be able to still have her coffee if that happened. 

After grabbing their coffees, Cuddy and Max sat down opposite each other at one of the tables in the cafeteria. 

“So, were you friends with Alex?” Cuddy asked 

“Not really.” Max shrugged “He just knew that I needed a job, so when he decided to leave he let me know you’d be looking for a new assistant” 

Cuddy nodded and took a long sip of her coffee. She knew that Max’s answer didn’t really explain much but she decided to just let it go.   
“So, Max, what where you doing before you spoke with Alex?” Cuddy asked. “I mean, what were you doing for a job?”

“I was studying. I’m nineteen so I was in college.” Max replied

“You dropped out?” 

Max half shrugged “I’m kind of just taking a break. Get some things clear in my head” She explained. “There’s some things that I need to sort out. I figured an assistant job would keep me busy.”

Cuddy nodded. She could relate. Not with leaving school, but with wanting to clear her head. She was very grateful to Max for her help with Fletcher, especially after the days she had been having. It was nice to focus on something else, if only for a short while. 

“Thank you again for your help with Mr. Fletcher back there” said Cuddy

“You’re welcome” Max replied “Again” she laughed.

Cuddy couldn’t help but smile. She was feeling more relaxed then she had in days.

“Besides, it seemed like he was being unnecessarily difficult.” Max continued before taking a sip of her coffee. “Guess I wanted to help end the misery”

And for the first time in days Cuddy laughed, a real actual laugh.

**House MD**

“Somethings going on” House announced as he walked over to Wilson.

Wilson had been sitting in the hospital’s cafeteria, enjoying a nice quiet lunch when House had startled him slightly. 

“What?” Wilson asked. 

“Somethings going on” House repeated as he sat down opposite his friend.

“Yeah I heard you” Wilson sighed exasperated. “I mean ‘What?’ as in ‘What’s going on?’”

“I don’t have a case” House said matter of factly.

“And?”

“And I’m not in the clinic either” 

“Are you meant to be in the clinic?” Wilson asked and House nodded. “Has Cuddy chased you up about being in the clinic?”  
“No.”  
“Oh..” Wilson thought for a moment and then shook his head. “Sorry, I got no idea”

House rolled his eyes and sighed loudly. 

“Something’s going on because Cuddy hasn’t told me to get in the clinic” 

Wilson thought for a moment. “Well…maybe she’s busy. I heard her assistant quit. And the nurses recon she’s been more stressed than usual”

“No,” House shook his head. “It’s something else. She hasn’t yelled at me since my Erythopoietic Protoporphyria patient”  
“House that was only a few days ago. Like I said, she’s probably just busy….”   
Wilson paused and looked down at his food, deep in thought for a moment. He thought back to that night when he had found Cuddy in her office crying. 

“Uhm…” Wilson begins “What I meant by ‘Are you okay’ is ‘What the hell did House do’?”

“It’s not what he did it’s what I --” Cuddy pauses, afraid of saying too much. She bites her lip and shakes her head slightly. “…It doesn’t matter”

“Well she may be upset about something you did or said”  
“That’s never stopped her before” House replied.   
“I don’t know.” Wilson shook his head slightly again and looked back up at House. “I saw her crying in her office a few nights ago. She didn’t tell me why, but I’m guessing it had something to do with you”   
“I—oh” House suddenly remembered the words that he had said to her while she was in the shower with his patient.   
“House, what did you do this time?”  
“Nothing” House lied. He knew exactly what he did. And he knew that for things to go back to normal, he would have to apologize to Cuddy. But he also knew that she probably wouldn’t want him blabbing to Wilson about it or about her secret goal of trying to become pregnant.  
“It can’t be nothing.” Said Wilson “She was crying. She’s been acting sad ever since. She---“ Wilson stopped suddenly.  
They heard laughing coming from the other side of the cafeteria. They both stopped and turned around to see Cuddy, sitting with a coffee in her hand, a young woman sitting opposite, and Cuddy was…Laughing.  
“She seems fine now” said House, looking intently at his boss from across the room. “Who’s that?” He asked as he lifted his cane and used the end to point towards Cuddy’s companion.  
“Uh…I’m not sure” Wilson stated still in a bit of confusion.   
Suddenly, House pushed his chair out and stood up quickly.   
“Where are you going?” Wilson asked  
“To find out who that girl is” House replied  
Wilson stood up almost as fast as House and walked rather quickly to join his friend’s side. Together they walked over to Cuddy’s table. When he got there, House loudly cleared his throat, stopping Cuddy mid word.   
Cuddy looked up at House and Wilson and then quickly turned away from House. Something that did not go unnoticed by the diagnostician. 

“Um, Hi” Wilson said sheepishly. A little embarrassed by House being so rude. Not that he shouldn’t be use to it by now. 

“Hi” Max said, looking up at the two men and smiling.

“Oh, um, Max this is Dr. Wilson, head of Oncology” Cuddy gestured her hand towards Wilson. 

Max reached a hand out and shook Wilson’s with a smile still on her face. 

“Hi” She said again.

Wilson nodded and then let go of her hand. 

“And this is Dr. House, head of our Diagnostic department” Cuddy continued, barely looking at House as she introduced him to Max.

Max whipped her head back to Cuddy for a moment. Her eyes wide in surprise and her smile faltering slightly. Then she managed to compose herself and looked back at House and smiled slightly. 

“It’s good to meet you” She said, reaching her hand out to shake his. 

House ignored her. He was busy looking at Cuddy, who had yet to look him in the eyes. Something was going on with her. He had hurt her before but she had never stopped looking at him before. He understood that his comment in the bathroom and been way over the line, but he hadn’t realized how far he had gone until just now. 

Max pulled her hand back and frowned slightly as she looked from House to Cuddy and back again. This situation didn’t seem right. 

“This is Max” Cuddy began, she looked up at Wilson but refused to look in House’s direction. “She’s my new assistant”

Max quickly looked over at Cuddy and grinned “Yeah?” She asked. 

Cuddy nodded her head. She knew she should at least interview Max, and probably other potential assistance, but there was something about Max. Cuddy couldn’t put her finger on it, but she liked the young woman. She had a way of making Cuddy feel less stressful and after the last few days she needed that. 

“Great” Max smiled broadly “Thank you” 

Cuddy smiled back at Max. “I should probably get back” she stood up slowly from the table. “I still have a few meetings.. Max why don’t you meet me in my office in half and hour and we’ll go over a few things.”

“Sounds good.” Max replied with a small smile.

Cuddy turned and nodded a quick goodbye to Wilson before walking away and leaving the cafeteria. 

House was so busy looking after Cuddy that he had almost forgotten about Max and Wilson. Until Wilson started talking again. 

“Well, ah, welcome to the hospital” Wilson told Max as he turned back to her.

Max nodded. “Thanks. I better go,” she slowly pushed her chair out and stood up. “I’ve got a few things to do. But I’ll see you both around. Bye Dr. Wilson, Dr. House”

“See ya” Wilson replied. 

House gave a half wave, still not looking at Max “Yeah” he sighed. 

Max frowned before shaking her head and walking past the two doctors. Wilson watched her leave and then turned to House, who was deep in thought. 

“That was a bit rude” Wilson said pointedly.

House finally snapped out of his trance and looked over at his friend. “What?” 

Wilson sighed and rolled his eyes before heading back to his table to finish his lunch. He didn’t bother asking House if he was going to join him. 

**House MD**

Max walked out of the cafeteria and turned a corner. She leaned against the wall and pulled her cell phone out of her pocket. She quickly looked around, making sure no one was around before dialling a number and placing the phone against her ear. 

It rang twice before someone answered. 

“It’s me..” She said into the phone. “…I’m in.”

To be continued….


	4. chapter four

Chapter Four:

It was late in the evening. Much later than House would usually have remained at the hospital, but he was busy thinking and hadn’t really noticed the time. 

He sat at his desk, with his chair facing the other way so he could look out the window at the fading sun in the sky. His cane in one hand as he twirled it around absentmindedly. 

He thought back to Cuddy in the cafeteria and how she was laughing one moment, and then trying her best not to look at him at the next. He had done a lot of things in the past that may have upset Cuddy, and he was sure that he had over stepped many lines before, both on a professional case and a personal case. But Cuddy always managed to fight back. It was one of the reasons why he kept doing it. Like with Wilson, Cuddy knew how to take his hits and knew just how to give her own back.

Not this time though. This time he had gone too far. Cuddy couldn’t even bring herself to look at him. Maybe he didn’t want her to. Maybe he didn’t want to see the hurt in her eyes. 

**House MD**

Max stood outside House’s office, just able to see him through the half closed blinds along the office wall. In one arm, she was holding a small sketch pad and held a lead pencil in the other hand. As she watched House, she started to draw something. Her eyes darted from House, to the pad, and back again continuously. She was so focused that she didn’t notice someone walk towards her in her peripheral vision. 

“Ah, Hi.” Came a voice.  
Max jumped slightly and quickly flipped the cover over on her sketch book. She turned around and saw Dr Wilson just as he stepped next to her. 

“Can I help you?” Wilson asked, looking at her curiously.

Max regained her composure and shook her head slightly. She offered Wilson a smile and said “No, no I’m fine”

“Were you after Dr. House?” Wilson asked, gesturing towards House’s office.

“I’m just doing some research” Max explained. “Dr. Cuddy suggested I take a look around the hospital. She specifically made a point of saying that I should, and I quote, ‘familiarise myself with Dr. House and his team’ so I’m just… Looking”

She hadn’t exactly lied to Dr. Wilson. Dr. Cuddy had said that, it’s just that it wasn’t the only reason why she was there. 

Wilson chuckled slightly and nodded, “That makes sense.” He tilted his head towards House’s office. “You’ll probably be dealing with them a lot”

“And I’m guessing not in a good way?” Max asked.

“Well…Let’s just say they make Dr. Cuddy’s life, ah, interesting here at the hospital” Wilson said with a slight laugh.

Max turned back and looked at House briefly. Then she shrugged one shoulder and turned walking away. Wilson quickly followed and walked beside her. 

“So, do you know Dr. Cuddy?” Wilson asked as they walked.

“Not really” Max replied, turning her head slightly to look at Wilson. “I did only just meet her today when I got this job”  
“Oh,” Wilson paused for a moment before he continued, “I just assumed you already knew each other.”

“Nope” Max smiled and then quickly changed the subject. “So being a doctor, that’s gotta be… interesting”  
“It can be very fulfilling most of the time” Wilson agreed.

“I bet.”

“You’re not interested in being a doctor are you?” He asked

“Kind of” She replied honestly. “But, I wouldn’t know which field to choose. I can’t make my mind up.”  
Wilson nodded. He knew that could be a hard choice to make. 

“Is anyone in your family a doctor?” Wilson asked, “Your parents?” 

“Yeah, good ones too—“ Max suddenly stopped, eyes wide as she realised what she had just said. “So, um, have you worked here for a long time” She asked quickly to recover from her slip.

“Several years now” Wilson nodded.

“So, you would know Dr Cuddy and Dr House pretty well, right?” Max asked.

“Yeah,” Wilson answered with a shrug. He looked at her quizzically, “Why?”  
“I was just wondering what was going on between the two of them” Max replied. She gave a half shrug and continued, “They seemed…weird before. But, obviously being new here I could be wrong.”

“Ah,” Wilson thought for a moment. “Probably just some hospital procedure stuff they are disagreeing about”

“Oh. I thought it might have been something different” Max replied, looking down for a moment.  
“What do you mean by that?” Wilson asked, surprised and curious. 

Max turned and looked at him with a small smile, shaking her head again, “I’ve just heard some things”

They had reached the elevators and had stopped walking. Wilson let out a small chuckle again. 

“Which rumour did you hear?” He asked, an amused smile on his face.

“There’s more than one?” Max asked, turning to face Wilson. She reached a hand out and pressed the down button on the wall near the elevator.

“I think there’s a few actually” Wilson told her. He thought for a minute and then continued, “There’s the one where they are currently having an affair. There’s the one where they were having an affair, but now they’re not”

The elevator dinged and the doors opened. They both walked in and then Wilson continued.

“There’s the one where Cuddy has a thing for House, but he doesn’t feel the same for her. And then there’s the one where House has a thing for Cuddy, but she doesn’t feel the same for him.”  
“Wow,” Max let out a short breath.

“I think theres more” said Wilson, thoughtfully “But those are the main ones.”  
“Oh,” Max thought for a moment and then shrugged. “I heard that they were together. Like, not an affair but an actual couple.”

Wilson shook his head vigerously, “Nooooo” He said, shaking his head. “Definatly not a couple.”

They heard another ‘ding’ and the elevator doors opened once again. Wilson turned and didn’t see the slight confusing and disappointment in Max’s eyes.   
“But…” Max began, slightly confused. “I mean, they used to be a couple? At one point? Right?”

“You probably shouldn’t pay attention to rumours or gossip” Wilson told her seriously. “Especially being Cuddy’s assistant.”

“Yeah.” Max said quietly. She collected herself and smiled at Wilson “Thanks”

With that she walked out and headed back towards Cuddy’s office. 

Wilson watched her leave and then shook his head. She was a bit odd, but then she might actually blend in in this hospital. 

**House MD**

That night, Max was sitting cross legged on a large queens size bed in her hotel room. Her sketch pad laid out in front of her. She had her lead pencil in one hand and was holding her cell phone to her ear with the other. She was in the middle of a conversation.

“Yeah, I met them,” She said to the person on the other line. “….Dr. Cuddy, she’s smart and really lovey, and kind, and sweet” Max continued with a small smile and a hint of affection in her voice. She paused and listened then she frowned and continued, “…Yeah, not sure I can say the same about him. He was a little rude, and from what I’ve heard, he’s a bit of a nightmare” 

There was another pause as the person on the other end spoke. Max sighed, tapping her pencil against the paper repeatedly. 

“Well, I thought they were still together. Still in love.” She sighed once more and bit her lower slightly, then she shook her head. “But turns out they may have never been together, so now I’m not sure what the story is….I’m just confused, you know?” 

Max listened for a moment before shaking her head with determination, even though the other person couldn’t see her. “No, I’m going to stick to my plan” She explained boldly. “I’m going to hang around and suss them out….Yeah… I’ll call you later when I find out more. Bye”

Max lowered her cell and hung up the call. Then she tossed the phone beside her on the bed and fell backwards, until her back hit the matress. She took a deep breath and looked up at the ceiling.

This may be harder than she had thought.

To Be Continued….


	5. chapter five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Note: Medical information is all wrong. I tried doing research but then ended up just making stuff up. The medical side of things isn’t really important as it’s just here to move the plot along. I hope you still enjoy the story anyway.

Chapter Five:

The next day, House was sitting in his office, still thinking about Cuddy. He had yet to find the, for a better word – courage, to go and talk to her. He didn’t really know where to start as he wasn’t really sure what the problem was. Yes, he had attacked her choices of trying to become a mother, but he had a feeling that there was something else.

He bounced his large tennis ball against the glass wall of his office. He almost hit Max as she walked in. Instead of jumping back, Max kicked her leg out and sent the ball rolling across the room, and into the corner.

“Hey!” House exclaimed, annoyed. 

“Well don’t throw balls at people” Max shot back. 

“Did you want something?” House asked rudely as he stood up and grabbed his cane.  
He limbed past her and went to get his ball back. 

“You need to get to the clinic,” Max told him, folding her arms over her chest. “You have four hours to make up.”

House leaned down and grabbed his ball with one hand and then straightened up. He turned and looked over at Max.

“How do you know?” He asked

“I’m Dr Cuddy’s assistant.” Max shrugged. “It’s my job to know”

“So, why didn’t Dr Cuddy come here and tell me herself?”

Max unfolded her arms and half shrugged, “You should ask her that.” 

“Well, I’m busy.” House pointed his cane towards the door, “So……”

Max gave him a pointed look and stared him down. “You are not busy. You’re playing handball with the wall.”

House ignores her and heads back towards his desk. 

“What are you doing?” Max asked. She was starting to understand all the negative reputation he had around here. “I just told you to get in the clinic”

 

“And I told you, I’m busy” House shot back.

Max looked at him for a moment, she was trying to figure him out. He was rude and infuriating, but there had to be more…right?

Max placed one hand on her hip. “Look, I was told to tell you to get in the clinic-“

“-Good, job then. You’ve told me, so—“ House interrupted.

“-So how about you go and do your job.” Max snarked back “You know, because Dr Cuddy, your boss, told you to.”

House sat down and then turned to look at her. She was definitely more outspoken than any of Cuddy’s other assistants. Which would not be good for him. He’d prefer the ones who were scared of him. It made it easier for him to get away with more. 

“And why don’t you go back to playing solitaire on your computer while you wait for the phone to ring so you can feel like you are earning that paycheck” House pointedly told her. 

Yeah, the kid seemed tough but House was House. She wasn’t going to get the better of him. Though he had to admit, it was fun to see how far he could push her.

Max opened her mouth but stopped when a group of people walked into the office. It was Chase, Cameron and Foreman. Chase was holding a new patients file in his hands. 

“We have a new case – Oh hey” Chase looked at Max and smiled. 

Max grinned at him, her face softening a bit. 

“Hi, I didn’t know you worked with Dr House” 

“For” House corrected from his chair. 

Max rolled her eyes and shook her head. 

“Ah, yeah” Chase replied. “So you’re Cuddy’s new assistant?” 

“It would seem so.”

“If you’re going to flirt could you at least give me the damn patient file,” House said suddenly, holding one hand out expectantly. “So I don’t have to pay attention.”

“I’m not flirting!” Chase shot back, a tinge of anger and embarrassment in his voice. 

Once again, Max rolled her eyes before waving her hand slightly. “I got to get back to work. Good luck with the case” 

 

Max waved at Cameron and Foreman, who both looked a little stunned as they didn’t really know what was happening. 

Max got to the door and then turned back so half her body was still in the office. 

“Oh, and I play online poker while I wait for the phone to ring. Not solitaire” She told House. “Stakes are higher” 

And then she left. 

House couldn’t help but smirk slightly. 

He stopped when Chase eventually handed him the patient’s file. He ignored his fellows as he started to read the file quickly. His thoughts briefly drifted to Cuddy. Not only was she avoiding him but sending her assistant to hassle him about his clinic duty, but she was also passing new cases to his fellows instead of just finding him directly. He needed to find out what was going on with her. But right now he needed to cure this patient. 

**House MD**

Several hours later, House and Foreman had angrily walked into Cuddy’s office. They had been arguing over the best way to proceed with their patient. Foreman had one theory, and House had another theory. Of course, House’s theory would involve some much more dangerous and risky tests.

“Can I help you?” Cuddy said from her desk as the two men came in. 

“Our patient doesn’t have cancer, “Foreman began “But House wants to shoot her up with Chemo anyway.”

“Just because her tests are negative doesn’t mean she doesn’t have cancer” House shot back, looking at Cuddy.

“Isn’t that exactly what it means?” Cuddy asked, looking at Foreman and then at House briefly.

“If we give her a dose of chemo we can see if she really doesn’t have cancer or a tumour” House continued. “It’s quicker and easier than running all the same tests again”

“But it’s riskier.” Foreman snapped “You’ll end up giving her a stressed induced heart attack” 

“But she won’t have cancer anymore” House snapped back.

“She doesn’t have cancer!” Foreman yelled. “We just need to do a CAT scan and –“

“—Give her the chemo,” Cuddy said suddenly.

Both House and Foreman turned to her in shock. 

“What?!” They both said in unison. 

“If you think the chemo will work, then get it done.” She told them softly.

“But—“ Foreman began but Cuddy held her hand up and stopped him. 

“—If it doesn’t work then do the CAT scan” 

Foreman was shocked. Cuddy didn’t even listen to reason. She usually listened to reason. Not this time. No, this time she automatically sided with House. 

Foreman shook his head and quickly walked out. 

House turned and looked at Cuddy. She had gone back to looking at whatever paperwork was in front of her. He waited a minute, wanting to see if she would say anything…if she would look at him. When she didn’t he turned and left. 

**House MD**

“I’ll page Cameron to get the chemo set up—“ Foreman began as he and House headed towards the elevator.

“—We’re not giving her chemo” House stated matter of factly.

Foreman turned to him, eyes wide with disbelief and annoyance. 

“Then why did you just demand the ok from Cuddy?” Foreman asked

“We’re not doing chemo, it’ll make her sicker and could kill her” House continued, deliberately avoiding the question about Cuddy. “All we need is the CAT scan.”

House walked into the elevator and pressed the button. He didn’t wait for Foreman to join him. The doors closed once more with Foreman still standing outside the elevator, looking stunned. 

House had never wanted the chemo. He just wanted to see if Cuddy would approve it. There was usually only one reason why Cuddy lets him do such dangerous tests and procedures. She was feeling guilty about something. The question was, what was she feeling guilty about?

**House MD**

Cuddy was busy trying not to think about what she may have just agreed to. She had to pull herself together. She couldn’t let House do whatever he wanted because she felt guilty about something that happened in the past. 

She was brought out of her thoughts by a light knock at the door. Cuddy looked up and was relieved to see Max holding a takeaway coffee cup. 

“Hi, I heard shutting before when Dr House and Dr Foreman were in here before,” Max said as she slowly came into the room. “Thought you could use a caffeine hit.” 

She handed Cuddy the coffee and Cuddy took it gratefully with a soft smile. 

“Thank you, Max.” Cuddy nodded. “You can finish up for the day if you like.” 

“Are you sure?” Max asked. 

“Yes.” Cuddy nodded.

“Ok” Max nodded with a small smile. “I’ll see you tomorrow then.” 

Then Max turned and left, leaving Cuddy alone with her thoughts once again.

**House MD**

It was late in the evening, and most of the hospital staff that were not on the night shift had already gone home.

House had successfully diagnosed their patient. He had Foreman and the others order the necessary tests needed and now their patient would make a full recovery. 

Foreman, Cameron and Chase had all already gone home for the night. Has had Wilson, which was good as House had something he needed to do and didn’t want to get distracted by Wilson. 

House headed towards Cuddy’s office and was both pleased and a little nervous to see that her office lights were still on. A part of him had hoped that she had gone home already so he could think about this situation more. 

He walked in and was happy to see that Max was not there. He figured that she was the type of person to stick her nose into situations that did not concern her, and if she heard raised voices, then she would probably come in and interrupt before House could get to the bottom of what was going on with Cuddy. 

He keeps going and enters Cuddy’s office, letting the door bang shut behind him. He watches as Cuddy jumps but doesn’t make any other effort to show that she knows he is there. So he waits, waits for her to acknowledge his presence in her office. When she chooses not to he can’t help but feel a little angry at her. 

“What’s going on?” He demands suddenly. 

Cuddy had hoped that he would see she was busy and would just leave. But then again he wouldn’t be House if he did that. 

“I’m catching up on some paperwork” She replied calmly, looking in his direction but avoiding eye contact.

“That’s not what I’m talking about” House firmly. Then he sighed. “Why did you ok the chemo when anyone could see it was a bad idea?”

Cuddy shrugged, “You’re a good doctor. I trust your judgement”

“You shouldn’t” 

“Why? I heard the patient’s doing fine now, so—“

“—We didn’t do the chemo” House interrupted suddenly. “It was a bad idea”

“Then why did you ask fo--“ Cuddy stopped and then realized what he had done. “Did you ask for chemo because you wanted to see if I would agree with it or not?” She asked, shocked.

“And you gave in,” House told her with a thoughtful nod. “You only give in when you’re feeling guilty about something. You don’t know this patient personally. There’s no one in your family with the same illness—“

“—You don’t know---“ Cuddy tried to interrupt but House held his cane up and kept talking. 

“—So whatever it is, it’s not connected to this case.” House placed his cane back on the floor and shook his head. “It’s not my leg because you’re always feeling guilty about that but that doesn’t turn you into a hopeless “yes” man. So my conclusion is that you’ve done something. Something that’s making feel more guilty then normal and it’s eating you up inside”

House watched as Cuddy looked down at her hands. He had her, he knew he had her. So why didn’t the victory feel like he won? 

“House…” Cuddy begins, taking a quick breath. “…it’s nothing…”

“It’s not nothing!” House said angrily “You can’t even bring yourself to look at me. So what did you do?” He demanded.

Cuddy looked up and over at House once more. Again she was looking at him but avoiding eye contact. 

“I’m looking at you now,” She said softly. 

“No,” House shook his head angrily, “You’re looking to me. Not at me. So tell me what’s going on?”

“No…I…can’t,” Cuddy said softly, her voice breaking slightly. She needed to pull herself together. 

House banged his cane on the ground. He raised his eyes to the ceiling in frustration. 

“Fine!” He snapped. “Don’t tell me. But pull yourself together and get over it then. ‘Cause otherwise you’re going to get someone killed!”

With that, he turned and stormed out of her office. If he had stayed, he would have seen the tears that began to fall rapidly from Cuddy’s eyes. 

He was right. He was always right. This, her guilt, it was eating her up inside and she needed to get control of it before it caused her to do something stupid. 

After a few minutes, Cuddy sniffed and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. She knew that there was only one thing that she could do.

She had to tell House what happened….

To be continued…


	6. chapter six

Chapter Six

That night, House sat at his piano, letting his fingers drum softly against different keys as he played a random series of notes. On top of the piano sat a glass of scotch and ice that was now half full. 

House reached out one hand while the other kept playing. He grabbed the glass of scotch and brought it to his lips, taking a quick sip before placing it back on top of the piano. 

He was deep in thought, thinking about Cuddy. He had tried to get to the bottom of what was going on with her. He had confronted her but nothing came of it as he was too frustrated to push the subject further. He needed to regroup and come at this from a different angle. She was keeping something from him, that was obvious, but the question was: What?

He was annoyed at himself for not being able to figure out this particular puzzle, for not being able to get to the bottom of what was going on with Cuddy. That bothered him more than it should.

He was about to grab his drink once again when there was a light knocking on his door. He paused with his fingers just above the piano keys. He was silent for a moment before the knocking continued. He looked over at the clock on the wall. 9:43 it said. Nearly 10pm. So who the hell would be knocking at his door this late at night?

He groaned in annoyance at having his thought process interrupted by this person on the other side of his door. 

He reached out, grabbed his cane, and then hopped awkwardly towards his front door. 

“Wilson if this is you,” He began to say loudly as he opened the door. “You—“ He stopped suddenly when he saw Cuddy standing before him. 

He would never have expected to see Lisa Cuddy, dean of medicine standing at his door this late at night. 

“Cuddy,” He said, the surprise evident in his voice. 

He quickly looked her over. She wasn’t holding any files, which meant that this wasn’t about a new case. She looked nervous and was shaking slightly despite it being a warm night. Her arms crossed over her chest tightly. 

“Are you cold?” He asked before he could stop himself. He was still in shock that she was there. 

Cuddy shook her head slowly. “Can I…Can I come in?” She asked quietly, almost as if she was scared of what the answer might be.

House stepped back and gestured for her to come into his apartment. He watched as she slowly made her way to stand in front of his sofa. Her eyes darting around the room. She was nervous, and that both intrigued him and worried him slightly.

“Do you want a drink?” He asked as he closed the door before making his way over to her. 

“No, I’m ok” She replied quickly. 

There was a long awkward pause before House asked, “So…You wanna tell me why you’re here?”

“I need to talk to you” 

House nodded, “Ok,” he said. 

He walked over and sat on the sofa. He waited for her to join him but instead, she sat down on his piano bench, away from him. He took in her appearance once more. She seemed worried and nervous, but more than that, she seemed scared. 

“What’s happened?” He asked softly. She was starting to worry him. 

“You,” Cuddy started, pausing to take in a quick breath. Finally, after days of avoiding it, she made eye contact with him. “You asked me what was going on with me”

“Yeah,” He nodded. 

“I thought… I mean, I wanted to tell you” She told him. “I’ve wanted to tell you for so long, but I couldn’t…” 

Cuddy looked down and bit her bottom lip slightly. 

“Why? What’s—“ House began to ask.

Cuddy suddenly raised her hand and looked back up at him. “Please don’t talk. This is hard and I need to say this without you interrupting.”

House nodded once more and closed his mouth. He sat back and waited for her to say what she needed to say. 

“I’m not…I’m not trying to get pregnant anymore,” She told him softly.

“Why?” House interrupted. “Because of what I said?” 

“Please don’t talk,” Cuddy said again quickly. She closed her eyes and took in another breath. “I thought that I could get pregnant and what happened before wouldn’t matter. I thought I could handle the guilt, but I was wrong…”

There was another pause and Cuddy looked down at the ground for a long moment. When she looked back up at House, she had tears shining in her eyes.

“Do you remember Michigan?” She asked him suddenly. 

“Of course,” He nodded. “Over sixty-four thousand lakes and ponds. Home of the Detroit Tigers baseball team. Known as the Wolverine state—“ He rambled, saying random facts because he knew what she was really asking, but he wanted to hear her say it. 

“—No,” She said suddenly. “No. Do you remember me in Michigan?” 

House looked at her, his eyes softened ever so slightly. Was she seriously asking him that? How could he not remember her? He remembered every desperate whisper, every gentle murmur. Every moan, every gasp. He remembered how she felt. How she tasted. He would always remember. 

“Are you asking me if I remember that night?” He asked, eyes locked with hers. “That night you told me never to mention when I signed the employment forms for your hospital? That night?”

Cuddy nodded slowly.

House let out a short sigh and softly told her, “I’ve always remembered it.”

He looked down for a moment before turning his attention back to her, just in time to see her tears start to silently fall onto her cheeks. 

“…After,” Cuddy began, her voice shaking slightly. “After that night, I…. I was pregnant…”

House’s eyes grew wide. His mind couldn’t process what he had just heard. A part of him thought that maybe he had misheard her. The look on her face and the tears still rolling down her cheeks told him that he had heard her right. 

After several moments, House is able to find his voice again. “Did you…did you have a…miscarriage?” He asked, swallowing nervously.

Cuddy took in a shaking breath and quickly shook her head. 

“Did you have an abor—“ He began to ask. Slightly angrier than he had expected to be.

“No,” Cuddy said quickly. “I had, I had a little girl… Our little girl…” She ended in a whisper. 

Cuddy’s heart was breaking as she finally opened up and told House what had happened. He was watching her in silence, but she knew that he had a thousand different thoughts and feelings going through him. 

“What….” House began, he tried to compose himself before asking, “What happened?”

“She--she didn’t make it” Cuddy cried softly. Her voice breaking almost completely. “I was just thirty weeks, and she wasn’t breathing and…..” She trailed off, unable to keep speaking. 

House slowly stood up and took a few awkward steps towards her. 

“Why didn’t you tell me?” He demanded softly. “You’ve had twenty years”

“I know,” Cuddy nodded, looking up at him. “I know I should have…I wanted too. So many times. But I couldn’t. It was all just too painful. I just wanted to forget. And then everything happened with your leg and—“

“—My leg is not a damn reason not to tell me!” House snapped, back angrily.

“I know,” Cuddy sighed sadly. She stood up so that she was able to look him in the eyes again. “But it didn’t seem right to tell you and the longer I left it the easier it was. I didn’t want to bring it up if it wasn’t going matter anymore”

“The hell Cuddy!” House yelled, making her jump slightly. “It didn’t matter anymore? You were pregnant, with MY kid. You gave birth to MY baby! And you think that doesn’t matter?”

“She died, House!” Cuddy cried. “What would telling you have done? It would have brought back painful memories, but it wouldn’t have brought her back”

“You could have told me when it happened! When you were pregnant!”

“I know…” Cuddy said softly, blinking back her tears. “I should have…I’m sorry. I was young, and scared, and….”

She trailed off, sucking in a quick breath. House looked down at her. Usually, her tears would cause him to feel concern, would cause something in him to soften a bit. Not now, now as he looked at her, he could only feel anger and rage for what she had kept from him. He needed to get away from her before he said or did anything that he might regret. 

Without a word, he turned and grabbed his cane from its spot on the sofa. Once he had it, he turned back to Cuddy and leaned towards her slightly.

“You need to leave,” He said quietly through gritted teeth. Then he turned and made his way down his hallway.

“House!...” Cuddy called after him desperately. “House, please….!” She pleaded with him, but he ignored her. 

Cuddy jumped as the noise of a door being slammed shut echoed in the silent apartment. She stayed on the spot, motionless and unable to speak for a few moments before she took a deep, shaky breath and left his apartment. 

House, was in his bedroom and when he heard his front door closed, he turned and forcefully threw his cane against the wall, breaking it in two. 

**House MD**

Outside, Cuddy sat in her car. Her face in her hands as she let her tears fall. He hated her. She had to have known that he would. So why did it hurt more than she thought it would have? 

After several minutes she composed herself. She took a few deep breaths before reaching for her cell phone. Her vision was blurry due to her tears, but she was still able to find the number she needed before bringing the phone to her ear.

“Mum?....” She asked when someone finally answered. “It’s – it’s me….I told him….House…I told him about the baby…”

To Be Continued….


	7. chapter seven

Chapter Seven: 

It was early next morning when Max entered the hospital to start her shift. She was surprised to find that Dr Cuddy wasn’t in her office waiting for her. 

Max sat at her desk and turned her computer on. She busied herself by going through the morning's emails. After around fifteen minutes she looked at the clock at the bottom of her computer screen. Still no sign of Cuddy. Max opened up Cuddy’s appointments and checked to see if she had any meetings. She didn’t.

Max frowned. Cuddy didn’t seem like the type of person not to show up to work. 

She grabbed her phone and dialled Cuddy’s number. He ran several times before the voicemail clicked on. Max hung up and thought for a moment. Something was off, but she didn’t know what. She didn’t know Cuddy well enough yet to know what could be happening. 

Suddenly, she heard her cell beep, letting her know that she had a new message. Grabbing her phone she saw that the message was from Cuddy.

‘Max, I’m not feeling the best.   
Please reschedule my meetings.   
Cuddy.’

Max shook her head slightly. Something didn’t seem right about any of this. Something must have happened, but if Cuddy didn’t talk to her then she couldn’t know what that something was. 

**House MD**

Later that same morning, Cameron, Foreman and Chase were sitting at the large table in the adjoining room of House’s office. 

Foreman and Chase were reading some medical papers while Cameron was making some notes about something. 

Cameron looked up and turned to Chase and Foreman. 

“Does anyone know where House is?” She asked them suddenly. 

Both men looked up and shook their heads. 

“No,” Foreman replied. “But it’s not unusual for him to be late”

“Yeah, but not this late.” Said Cameron.

“Maybe,” Chase began, thinking for a moment. “Maybe he’s just hiding. You know, to avoid being in the clinic or something.” He paused and shrugged one shoulder. “It’s not like we have a case right now or anything.”

Cameron folded her arms over her chest and leaned back against her chair. She pulled her phone out and dialled House’s cell number. He rang out before it disconnected. She tried three more times but he never answered. Cameron then placed her phone down and frowned. 

Foreman and Chase went back to reading. After five minutes, Foreman looked over at Cameron, who was still deep in thought. 

“Why don’t you ask Wilson?” He suggested to Cameron. “I’m sure if anything is happening with House, he will know.” 

Cameron nodded. “Yeah, good idea.”

She pushed her seat back and then stood up. She walked out and headed towards Wilson’s office. 

“You think there might be something going on?” Chased asked Foreman after Cameron had gone.

“Probably not” Foreman replied. “But it’s House, so…” and he shrugged before going back to his reading. 

**House MD**

Wilson was sitting at his desk, looking over a patient’s file when there was a knock at the door. He looked up and saw Cameron poking her head into his office.

“Cameron.” He smiled at her and placed the file down. “How can I help you?” 

“I was just wondering if you’d seen House today?” She asked, walking into the office.

Wilson thought for a moment and then shook his head. “No, not yet. Why?”

“We don’t know where he is.” Cameron replied, “I’ve tried calling but he won’t answer.”

“Do you guys have a case?”

“No, at least not right now.” Cameron shrugged. “I just think it’s weird that won’t answer his phone. I thought maybe you knew something”

“Sorry, but I’ll do some checking. Maybe Cuddy knows what’s going on.” Wilson paused for a moment before adding, “I’m sure he’s just having a bad day with his leg. But I’ll see what I can find.”

“Ok, thanks, Wilson.” 

Cameron stood and left. After she had gone, Wilson picked up his phone and rang House’s cell. He didn’t answer. So Wilson tried his home phone. Again, no answer. Ok, now Wilson was starting to get curious. 

He rang Cuddy’s number but she didn’t answer either. He thought for a moment and then dialled her assistant’s number. 

“Dr Cuddy’s office. Max speaking.” Came Max’s greeting into the phone.

“Um, hi Max” Wilson began. “Do you know where Cuddy is? I can’t seem to reach her.”

“She’s not here,” Max replied. “She, ah, she sent me a text saying she was ill….but I don’t know much else”

“Oh…” Wilson was stunned. Cuddy never took time off. He’d even caught her in her office one when she had a cold. “So she’s not here?”

“No,” Max paused and then asked “that’s not normal, is it? I mean, it’s not the impression that I got from Cuddy”

“No, it’s not.” Wilson nodded and then sighed. “I’m sure she’s just really sick. Don’t worry about it”

“Yeah. Oh hey, have you seen Dr House?” Max asked

“Um, no.”

“Oh. Ok well, I heard that he hadn’t shown up yet either.”

“Well, no. But I’m sure I can find him.” Wilson replied.

Then he hung up. 

So both Cuddy and House were not at the hospital today. House he could understand. Like he had said to Cameron, it could just be his leg playing up. But Cuddy? Cuddy never took a sick day. Something was definitely going on. 

Wilson stood, grabbing his phone and keys. He decided to go to House’s apartment and find out what was going on with his best friend. 

**House MD**

When Wilson got to House’s apartment, he was surprised to find the door unlocked. He pushed it opened.  
“House!” He called as he entered the apartment. 

He saw his friend sitting on his sofa, a glass of scotch in one hand. Wilson moved to stand in front of House. He noticed that the other man’s eyes were off like he wasn’t focusing. He seemed dazed.

“House?” Wilson asked carefully. 

House, having just noticed him, turned and looked up at Wilson. 

“You’re not the escort I ordered,” House frowned

“Escort?” 

“Shh, its code for hooker” House laughed slightly. 

“Ah, House, are you…drunk?” Wilson asked as he raised an eyebrow quizzically.

“Pfft. Noooooooo” House shook his head. He paused and then looked back at Wilson, shrugging one shoulder. “Well, maybe.” 

“What the hell House!” Wilson exclaimed in shock. “What’s happened? Is it your leg? You shouldn’t be drinking just to get rid of your pain.”

House scoffed before taking another mouthful from his drink. “It’s not my leg, but thanks for the concern”

Wilson stared at House for several moments before he sighed and sat down on the furthest end of the sofa from House.

“Ok,” Wilson began carefully. “If it’s not your leg then why are you sitting here in the middle of the day getting drunk?”

House shrugged. He finished his drink and then stood up awkwardly and carefully limped towards his kitchen. An action made harder by his drunken state and the fact that he didn’t have his cane. 

Wilson frowned before following him.

“House, where’s your cane?” 

“I broke it” House replied shortly as he poured himself another drink. 

“You broke it?” Wilson repeated in shock. Something had happened. Something bad. “House, what’s going on? You’re going to lose your job if you don’t pull yourself together”

“Good,” House muttered before taking a mouthful of his new drink. “Because I quit”

House turned and limped back out to his living room, grabbing anything he could with his right hand to balance himself as his left hand carried his drink. 

Wilson stood in the kitchen completely stunned. After a moment he regained his composure and followed House once more.

“You quit? What do you mean you quit?” Wilson asked. 

“I quit” House repeated. “I resign. I’m leaving. Not sure how else to say it” He shrugged before sitting back down. 

“But…Why? What’s happened? What’s Cuddy going to say?” 

House scoffed and shook his head. “She’s the reason why I’m quitting. I can’t work for her anymore.”

“What?” Wilson asked, “why what happened?” 

House didn’t say anything. He just sat back and drank his drink, enjoying the buzz that was washing over him once more. He heard Wilson sigh but refused to look at him. 

Wilson sat beside his friend and sighed softly once more.

“House, I’m sure whatever’s happened between you and Cuddy isn’t that bad” Wilson spoke softly. “I’m sure if you talk to her you two can—“

“No!” House snapped angrily. “I don’t want to talk to her. I don’t want to see her. In fact, you can let her know I quit. Save me from doing it”

“Ok, House, now you’re starting to worry me,” Wilson said concerned for his friend. “I mean, I’ve seen you and Cuddy have some pretty horrendous fights before, but you’ve never wanted to not see her again. Even after your leg.”

“This is different” House muttered.

“But why? What happened? What could possibly be this bad?”

House was getting fed up and finally, he snapped angrily, “She had my kid and she didn’t tell me!” He shouted. 

Wilson sat shocked. His eyes wide as he stared at House. House was seething, drunk and angry as he sat on his sofa. 

“…D-did you just s-say…?” Wilson stuttered. Surely he had misheard House. “Cuddy had your kid?”

“Yep,” House said in a rushed, short breath. 

“What? How?”

House turned and gave him an ‘are you serious’ look. Wilson shook his head quickly.

“No, I mean I know ‘how’,” Wilson said quickly. “I meant when? You never told me you and Cuddy had hooked up? Did she have a miscarry?” he paused and thought for a moment. “Was that why she was crying in her office the other day?”

“Probably,” House scoffed. “But not because she had a miscarriage”

“Then I don’t—“ Wilson began.

House cut him off quickly, “--She was pregnant twenty years ago. She kept this from me for twenty god damn years!” he said through gritted teeth. 

Once again, Wilson was stunned into silence for several moments before he found his voice.

“I thought you didn’t know Cuddy back then?” He asked.

House shook his head and rolled his eyes slightly. “You don’t really need to know someone to have sex with them. Trust me, I know.”

“Ok…But you never mentioned that you two had ever had sex either.”

“She told me not to,” House replied with a shrug. “Which makes sense now. She didn’t want her secret getting out.”

“What happened? Did she give the baby up for adoption?” Wilson asked, a thousand questions running through his head.

House looked down into his drink. “She died…” He whispered. “She was stillborn…”

“Oh, House…” Wilson sighed, sad for his friend. “I’m sorry. It-ah, she was a girl?” 

“Apparently,” House shrugged before taking two big mouthfuls of his drink. His buzz wasn’t as strong as it had been before Wilson had shown up.

The two men sat in silence for longer than fifteen minutes. House, trying to feel numb again, and Wilson, trying to understand and accept what he had been told.

After another few moments of silence went by, Wilson carefully asked: “What are you going to do now?” 

House was silent for a moment before he said, “I told you. I quit”

“Are you sure that’s the best?” Wilson asked. “I know you're angry now, House, but do you really think quitting your job is the right thing to do?”

“It’s better than working for the woman who couldn’t be bothered to tell me that she was pregnant with my child.” House snapped back. 

“You know Cuddy,” Wilson began. “I’m sure she had her reasons”

House scoffed and finished the last of his drink.

“This was what? Twenty years ago?” Wilson continued, ignoring House. “She was young. She was probably scared, and hormonal.” 

“Stop defending her,” House told him sternly. 

“I’m not defending her.” Wilson sighed. “I’m just pointing out that this is probably not all black and white. I mean, Cuddy had to give birth to a baby that had died…” he paused and took in a short breath. “I…I can’t even imagine how painful that would have been…”

House sighed and closed his eyes. 

“You’re my friend. Stop bringing logic and reason into this” House sighed.

Wilson smiled slightly. There was the House he knew and… liked?

“House,” Wilson sighed, “I am sorry that she didn’t tell you. But do you really think staying here, drinking all day is the best thing you can do?”

House looked straight ahead for a long moment, then he shook his head. 

No,” He sighed softly.

Wilson, always the voice of reason, was once again right. Right now, House was angry. He knew that he was. He knew that he could not sit here for the rest of his life and wallow in his anger and grief. He would have to go back to work. He would have to see his fellows and work on cases. And eventually, he would have to talk to Cuddy.

To Be Continued….


	8. chapter eight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Notes: Again the medical information is probably not right as well as the maths.

Chapter Eight:

Two days later, House had stopped drinking and had managed to pull himself together, thanks, in big part to Wilson. Wilson had even gone out and bought him a new cane to use since his other cane was now in two pieces. 

Then he got a call from Foreman, letting him know that they had a new case. So House pulled himself together and made his way to the hospital. He made sure not to go near Cuddy’s office. He knew he would have to see her eventually. He just wasn’t ready to do that just yet. He was still angry at her. 

He didn’t know if he could ever forgive her, but he also knew that Wilson was right when he said that he couldn’t just leave his job. House lived for the puzzles of each case. He liked being smart enough to solve cases that stumped others, and he wasn’t going to give that up because of Cuddy.

So no, House stood in front of his whiteboard, a marker in one hand and his cane in the other. Foreman, Cameron and Chase were all with him. Each running through different theories as to what could be wrong with their new patient.

This case was proving to be a good distraction.

**House MD**

Cuddy had been in her office all day. She knew that House and his team were working on a case and she really hoped that he would be able to figure out what was wrong without needing anything from her. She wasn’t ready to see him yet. To see the hate in his eyes when he looked at her. Not that she didn’t deserve it. She had lied to him, and she knew that she deserved his anger, his hate and so much more. 

She needed to work out a new budget for the next board meeting, but she couldn’t focus so doing her work was slightly impossible. Maybe she should have taken more days off work. 

She knew that she had to try to move on. She had work to do and a hospital to run. She couldn’t live in the past and she couldn’t put her life on hold.

Cuddy was staring vacantly at her sofa, when Max walked in, carrying a takeaway coffee cup and a brown paper bag.

“Hi,” Max said. “Are you alright?” She asked.

Cuddy turned and offered Max a small, sad smile. 

“Yes, I’m fine,” Cuddy said with a nod. 

“Are you sure?” Max asked with concern. “You’re not still sick or anything?” 

“No, no, it’s just a busy day,” Cuddy replied with a sigh.

“Oh, ok.” Max paused and then remembered why she had come in. “I brought you these,” she said, placing the coffee and bag on Cuddy’s desk. “Coffee and a low-fat orange poppy seed muffin. You looked like you could use a little treat.”

Cuddy smiled, generally surprised by Max’s kindness. None of her other assistants had ever taken it upon themselves to reach out because they thought she could use it. 

“Thank you, Max” 

Max shrugged, “Don’t worry about it. Um is there anything you want me to do?”

Cuddy thought for a moment before shaking her head, “No. I’m just going to wort out this quarter’s budget. So, just keep an ear out for the phone and check any emails.”

“So the usual?” Max asked, grinning slightly.

Cuddy couldn’t help but let out a half sigh, half laugh. “Yeah.”

Max nodded and turned to leave. Before she got to the door, Cuddy had a thought. 

“Max?” She called. When Max turned back around, Cuddy continued. “Um, Dr House has a case. I’m going to be pretty busy, so could you just…keep an ear out? Check on Dr House and his case from time to time to see if they need me for anything.”

“Oh, um, yeah. Sure” Max nodded. 

Max walked out and closed the door behind her. 

Max wasn’t sure what was going on, but she knew that something was happening between Cuddy and House. First, there was the weird encounter at the cafeteria on her first day. Even she could feel the awkwardness between them. Then they both vanished for a few days before coming back like nothing had happened, and now they seemed to be avoiding each other. 

Max had done some research and had heard from several nurses that it wasn’t uncommon for House to hide from Cuddy. Mostly to avoid having to spend time in the clinic. But she had never heard anyone say that Cuddy went out of her way to avoid House. 

Something was going on and Max was going to get to the bottom of it. She had to. It was part of the reason why she was here. To get all the information she could on House and Cuddy.

**House MD**

House was in his office, his team had already gone and ran some tests and had gotten the patient’s medical history. Now they were all back in his office, still trying to work out what was wrong. 

They were discussing the case when Max walked in. House ignored her. He was sure that Cuddy had sent her and if that was the case, then he didn’t care why she was there.

“How’s the case going?” Max asked. She looked over the information on the whiteboard. 

“Ah,” Cameron blinked in surprise and Max’s question. She didn’t think she would be able to explain the case to an assistant with no medical background.

House ignored her but Chase looked over at her and shrugged. 

“We’re a bit stumped” Chase admitted. 

“Stop chatting up, Cuddy’s assistant.” House snapped. “And focus on the case.”

“I’m not!” Chase exclaimed.

“Cuddy’s assistant has a name you know?” Max shot back, folding her arms over her chest.

House scoffed, “Yeah but no one cares.”

“-Maybe it’s Aagenaes syndrome?” Foreman thought loudly, trying to get the conversation back to the case. 

Cameron shook her head, “The changes of it being Aagenaes is one in sixty-four million. It’s gotta be something else”

Suddenly Max scoffed in disbelief. All four doctors turned to look at her.

“You have an opinion, Dr Cuddy’s assistant with a name I do not care about?” House asked, raising an eyebrow quizzically. 

Max pointed to the whiteboard and shrugged one shoulder. “I’m sorry,” She said. “It’s just that if something has a one in sixty-four million chances of happening, then it can happen all the time.” She explained slowly. “I mean, there’s what? Over six billion people in the world so that would make, like, over ninety-three percent worldwide. Which is pretty high if you think about it.” 

House looked at her stunned, “How did you--?” He began to ask.

Max shrugged as if she had just said something that should be common knowledge. “Math.” She smiled. “Anyway, I better get going. Good luck with the case.”

Max turned and left and House felt himself smirk slightly. After a moment, he turned back to his fellows. 

“Let’s run tests for Aagenaes.” He told them.

**House MD**

It was late in the afternoon and House was sitting at his desk, leaning back in his chair as he tossed his ball up high in the air and caught it again. 

The case had been solved. Max was partially right. It wasn’t Aagenaes, but it was close. House had not expected Cuddy’s assistant to be that smart. Usually, he would take that information to Cuddy, and ask her about Max. But that would mean talking to Cuddy and he wasn’t ready to do that yet. Thankfully this case had not required any sort of permission from the Dean of medicine. 

House was distracted by his thoughts so much that he did not notice the woman who came into his office. 

“Ahem,” The woman cleared her throat loudly.

House caught his ball in mid throw and looked up at the woman. She was an older looking woman and looked very proper. 

“Dr House?” She asked.

“Nope.” House shook his head. “Try the office next door.”

“It says Dr House on the door.” The woman pointed out. “Dr House I’m Arlene.”

House raised an eyebrow, “And that means?...”

The woman sighed and sat down in a chair opposite House. 

“Arlene Cuddy. Lisa’s mother.” The woman replied. 

House’s eyes widened for a split second. Then he composed himself and sat back defensively. 

“I think you’ve got the wrong office. Dr Cuddy’s office is downstairs.” 

“I’m not here to see my daughter,” Arlene replied. “I’m here to see you”

“And?” House asked, annoyance dripping from his tone. 

Arlene ignored his tone and continued, “I’m here because my daughter called me and told me that she’d spoken to you.”

House felt his anger building up inside of him once more. How dare Cuddy send her mother to talk to him about this. 

“And what do you want?” He demanded. “I’ve heard everything I need to from your daughter--”

“—Not everything.” Arlene interrupted calmly. “There are things she doesn’t know. But I wanted to tell you first. I can tell that Lisa is very upset so I wanted to save her the grief.”

“Ok,” House sighed in frustration. “So tell me. What don’t I know?”

There was a long pause before Arlene Cuddy answered him. Her voice was calm as she spoke. “The baby, your daughter. She wasn’t stillborn. She survived.”

To Be Continued…


	9. chapter nine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Note: Most of the dialogue is not mine. It’s from another show (same show I got the idea from) and I just re-wrote it for the House MD characters.

Chapter Nine

The sun had just set in the sky and Cuddy was sitting at home on her sofa. A small throw wrapped around her shoulders as she drank a mug of coffee. She had managed to go the whole day without seeing or talking to House. She was going to call that a victory, even though it didn’t feel like one. 

She was pulled out of her thoughts by the sound of someone knocking at her door. She sighed and stood up. She was in no mood for any visitors. Not tonight. She stood and placed her coffee down on the small table in front of her. The throw fell off her shoulder’s as she walked to the door. 

She moved over to the door and was surprised when she opened it and saw her mother standing before her.

“Mom?” Cuddy asked, stunned. “What are you doing here? I didn’t know you were coming?” 

“I thought after that phone call that I better come” Arlene replied.

Cuddy nodded and stepped back, allowing her mother room to walk past her. 

“Do you want a coffee?” 

“No, I’m fine. Thank you” Arlene nodded. “but we do need to talk.”

Cuddy nodded. She was sure she knew that this would be about. Her mother had always told her to never tell House about the baby as it had happened so long ago. 

“I’ve already spoken with House, Mom” Cuddy sighed, moving back to sit on the sofa. “It’s done. I can’t take it back.”

Arlene nodded and joined her daughter on the sofa. 

“I know,” Arlene said calmly. “But you didn’t tell him everything”

“How would you know mom?” Cuddy asked, rolling her eyes slightly. “You weren’t there.”

“I know because there are things that you don’t know. About what happened.” 

“Like what?” Cuddy asked, turning to look at her mother’s eyes. 

Arlene took a breath, before turning to her daughter. “Your daughter wasn’t stillborn. She’s alive.” She told her. 

Cuddy’s face fell. She couldn’t have heard her mother right. There was no way she heard her right. 

“H-How?” She asked in a quiet, broken voice. “How can she still be alive? You-you told me she died.” She closed her eyes for a moment and shook her head. “No. No this doesn’t make any sense”

“I can explain—“ Arlene began but Cuddy wasn’t finished. 

“No!” Cuddy exclaimed angrily “No she was stillborn, ‘cause you looked me in the eye and told me she’d gone”

“That’s not what I said,” Arlene replied, shaking her head slightly.

“No that’s exactly what you said!” Cuddy snapped.

“No,” Arlene shook her head again. “You’d thought she’d gone. I just didn’t correct you.”  
Cuddy’s mouth dropped open. She stared at her mother. 

Arlene continued, “You were lying in that bed after that horrible labor” She explained as calmly as she could. “You were drifting in and out of consciousness, and when you woke up, and you didn’t hear her crying because they’d taken her away because she wasn’t breathing. Then you looked up at me and you assumed that she was stillborn”

“And you didn’t correct me?!” Cuddy managed to choke out. 

She stood up, shaking slightly with shock and anger. She moved away from the sofa and her mother before turning back around. She bit her lower lip slightly to stop herself from crying. 

“That was the worst moment of my life,” Cuddy admitted, sniffing back her tears. “The worst, and you lied to me. How could you do that, Mom?” 

“You were so young,” Arlene sighed as she stood up and walked over to her daughter. “You had your whole life ahead of you.” She stopped and reached a hand out towards Cuddy’s shoulder. “We talked about adoption. Remember?” 

Cuddy quickly pulled away from her mother’s grasp.

“And I told you, I couldn’t go through with that!” Cuddy cried, a single tear escaping down her cheek. 

“Yes, I know that,” Arlene replied. “You were struggling with the idea. But, I thought you’d be grateful.”

“Grateful!” Cuddy yelled. She could not believe what her mother was telling her. And that she was being so damn calm and composed about it. “That was my choice to make, Mom. Not yours!”

“If you’d left that hospital then and there your future would have been decided for you.” Arlene shot back. “You would have been a single mother with a small child tied to you. Your chances of becoming a doctor would have dramatically decreased because you wouldn’t have been able to study as much as you did. And House, well do you really think he would have been there for you?” 

“You don’t know him!” Cuddy snapped back. 

“I’ve been around. I’ve met men like him before.” Arlene replied as she folded her arms over her chest. “When you told him was he supportive?”

“I lied to him, mom. He was hurt!”

“And he would have been hurt back then too! And you were too young to take that responsibility!”

Cuddy scoffed through her tears. “And who are you to decide that for me?” She demanded. 

“Because I’m your mother!” Arlene shouted back. “And I was trying to protect you! Look at what you’ve managed to accomplish. You think you would have been able to do all this if you’d been a single mother? No! I wanted better for you. And I wanted better for your baby!”

“Oh god,” Cuddy breathed and turned back to face her mother fully. “You...you planned the whole thing? Didn’t you?”

Arlene nodded her head and looked down briefly. “I lined up a…opportunity.”

Cuddy shook her head and let out a sound between a cry and a gasp. 

“I was going to tell you after the baby was born,” Arlene continued. “But you kept making this assumption--“

“--Oh, stop saying that!” Cuddy shouted as she threw her hands up in frustration. “As if that makes this all ok.”

“I’m trying to tell you how it happened!”

“Well, where is she?” Cuddy asked in a desperate tone. Her tears still flowing freely down her face. “What happened to her?”

“The doctor was a friend of a friend,” Arlene explained. “I told him that we wanted the child adopted, quietly, and he said he knew of a couple who were desperate to have a child”

Cuddy was pacing around the room, trying to get her thoughts together. She wanted to scream. She wanted to shout. She suddenly stopped pacing as a thought occurred to her.

“The town that you took me to…” Cuddy slowly stated as her thoughts came together. “To give birth…that’s why you wanted me to give birth there. And you insisted that I give birth at the doctor’s private surgery instead of the hospital…”

Arlene looked at her daughter and slowly nodded.

“So,” Cuddy continued, swallowing quickly. “So, I was lying there, crying my eyes out and my little girl was alive? And you knew it?”

“Lisa, I never met for you to get hurt—“ Arlene began softly.

Cuddy interrupted her with a half scoff, half cry of exasperation.

“I’ve had to live with this every day.” Arlene continued. 

“You’ve had to live with it!” Cuddy shouted. 

Cuddy turned away from her mother, unable to look at her anymore. Arlene stepped forward and reach out to touch Cuddy’s shoulder again. When Cuddy felt her touch, she spun around quickly and shouted: “Don’t touch me!”.

Arlene pulled back and sighed, “Lisa, would you talk to me please?” She begged her daughter softly.

Cuddy shook her head rapidly, tears flowing freely. “Just get out.”

“Lisa-“

“GET OUT!!” Cuddy screamed. 

Arlene nodded and turned and walked out the door. 

As soon as Cuddy heard the front door close, she let out a painful cry before collapsing on the floor in a heap. Her sobs shaking her entire body…

To Be Continued…..


	10. chapter ten

Chapter Ten

House was on his bike, driving a little bit over the speed limit and heading in the direction of Cuddy’s place. He had been sitting in his office, completely stunned when he finally came too and made his way out of the hospital with one purpose in mind. And that was to find Cuddy and talk to her.

“There are things she doesn’t know” 

Arlene had told him. And then she said that one sentence that changed his entire life, more than his leg pain, and more than Cuddy keeping the pregnancy a secret from him.

“Your daughter. She wasn’t stillborn. She survived.”

He had been so completely floored by those words, that he had zoned out. He wasn’t even sure when Arlene had left his office. Or if she had continued talking or not. All he knew was that once his brain started functioning at its normal pace once again, she was no longer sitting in front of him. Which was a good thing because at this time if he did see her again he couldn’t know what he would do to her. 

He was still mad at Cuddy for what she had done and for lying to him. And right now he was on his way to her. Maybe her mother would be there and he would be able to let them both hear how angry he was. He couldn’t really find the right words to describe how angry and betrayed he felt by these two Cuddy women. Both for different reasons. 

All he knew was that he was angry and on that thought alone, he continued towards Cuddy’s house.

**House MD**

When House finally pulled up in front of Cuddy’s place, his mind was still racing. He grabbed his cane and limped as fast as he could towards the front door. His leg was throbbing painfully but he pushed it to the back of his mind. 

When he reached the door he raised his hand to start pounding on it loudly, when a noise from inside stopped him. It was the sound of someone sobbing uncontrollably. He moved to the window and through the curtains he could just make out Cuddy’s form on the floor against a wall. She was crying uncontrollably and her body was shaking. 

And then it hit him. Her mother had told her about the baby. About their baby. Cuddy, who had thought that her baby daughter had died, had just found out that she was alive. 

He had done a lot of shitty things in his life. A lot of those things to Cuddy herself. But knowing that she was like this, her heartbreaking, when only a minute ago he was furious at her… It was the worst thing he’d ever done.

He swallowed the lump that was forming in his throat before reaching for the door handle. It was locked. He went to knock but knew that she wouldn’t hear him anyway. And if she did he doubted she would answer. Then he remembered her spare key. He quickly looked around. He knew she wouldn’t still keep in the same place as before. His eyes settled on the porch light. On a hunch, he reached up and felt his fingers come into contact with something small, hard and bumpy. He curled his fingers around it and pulled it towards him. It was a key.

‘Oh, Cuddy,’ He thought almost fondly and a bit grateful. ‘You predictable girl’

He slowly opened the door and entered her home. He closed the door behind him, pausing for a moment and closing his eyes because the cries coming from Cuddy where piercing his heart.

He slowly limped towards her cautiously. As if he would break her more by getting too close to her. 

“Cuddy…” He whispered hoarsely when he was standing right in front of her.

She didn’t say anything. Didn’t move. She just continued to cry.

House drew in a quick sharp breath before he moved to her side. He slowly and carefully leaned against the wall before painfully lowering himself next to her. A slight hiss escaped his lips as he stretched his legs out. 

He turned his attention back to Cuddy. Carefully and almost timidly, he reached out and lightly brushed his fingers against the skin of her wrist. 

He didn’t want to push her, and he didn’t know what reaction to expect from her. 

“Cuddy…” he sighed. 

She turned quickly and before he could meet her eyes she turned and collapsed against him, crying into the crook of his neck. 

On an instinct that he didn’t know he had, House wrapped his arms tightly around her and pulled her tighter against his body. He brought his lips to her temple and pressed them against her skin. 

**House MD**

House wasn’t sure how long they had been sitting like that. He felt dampness on his skin where her tears had fallen against him. He realised that Cuddy had stopped shaking and noticed that she’d cried herself to sleep. He let out a low deep sigh and leaned his head back against the wall. Cuddy’s body fell against him, proving to him that she was in a deep slumber. His eyes moved and he looked at her ceiling for a long moment. 

He looked back down at her and knew that he couldn’t leave her like this on the floor. He shifted her weight against him so that most of her was against the middle of his chest. Then he wrapped one arm around her and used the other hand to help him shimmy up the wall. 

He had to grit his teeth forcefully to stop from groaning in pain. The pressure on his leg was killing him, but he pushed it to the back of his mind. Once he was standing he looked down at Cuddy and in the new position he could see her face more clearly. She was paler than normal and the evidence of her tears clearly on her cheeks. 

Still holding her against him with one arm, he bent slightly and slid his other arm under her legs and then pulled her up so that he was cradling her in his arms. Carefully he made his way towards her sofa. 

As he moved, he couldn’t help but breathe in her scent. There was something familiar and satisfying about having her in his arms but he pushed those thoughts away as quickly as they had come. 

Carefully, he lowered her onto the sofa. She didn’t make a noise, nor did she move. The slowly rising and falling movement of her chest the only indication that she was alive and breathing. He stood back up and looked around briefly before spotting the wrap that was on the floor. He scooped it up and gently covered her body with it. 

Once he was sure that she was fine, he hobbled back towards where they had been and grabbed his cane. Then he made his way to her bedroom. It was late and he knew that they needed to talk. Staying the night in her bed was his only option. If she woke up and decide to move to her bedroom then he would willingly take the sofa instead. But since his leg would not allow him to travel the distance to the bedroom with her in his arms, him taking the bed seemed more logical. 

He sat down on the edge of her bed and placed his cane between his legs. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the familiar orange bottle. He tipped out four Vicodin pills and dry swallowed each one. He wasn’t sure which pain he wanted to get rid of. The unbearable throbbing pain in his leg…or the unbearable pain in his heart…

To Be Continued…


End file.
